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07 May 2024 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Supplied
UFS Celebrating Africa Month
The University of the Free State celebrates 2024 Africa Month.

May is widely recognised across African nations as Africa Month, a time dedicated to commemorating the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, a precursor to the African Union (AU). This historic milestone marked a significant shift towards continental unity and the collective pursuit of nation-building, championing the ideals of freedom and liberation from oppression.

On 25 May 2024, Africa celebrates the 61st anniversary of the founding of the OAU, now evolved into the AU. In alignment with this rich tradition, the University of the Free State (UFS) is proud to embrace Africa Day and its core principles once again in 2024, hosting a series of engaging events to highlight the importance of African indigenous knowledge in higher education, both locally and globally.

Honouring our legacy

Even preceding the formation of the OAU in 1963, countless initiatives spearheaded by Africans, both on the continent and within its diaspora, aimed to reclaim Africa’s rightful place on the global stage. South Africans have notably been at the forefront of these efforts, with figures like Pixley ka Isaka Seme delivering his seminal speech on the “Regeneration of Africa” in 1906, a sentiment echoed by subsequent generations through various initiatives geared towards decolonisation and revitalisation.

Africa Month serves as a platform to promote and cultivate appreciation for African arts and culture, fostering robust trade markets and stimulating economic growth across the continent.

Shaping the future

Vision 130 stands as the UFS’s strategic roadmap towards 2034, when the university will celebrate its 130th anniversary. One of its core values of ‘Innovation and Impact’, underscores the institution’s commitment to driving societal progress through impactful endeavours. Embracing creativity and challenging conventional norms, the UFS aims to leverage its knowledge resources to propel the development of the Free State, South Africa, and the African continent, while also contributing to global knowledge and understanding. With a firm commitment to regional engagement, the UFS seeks to be a catalyst for positive change, both locally and continentally.

Events calendar

For 2024, the theme of Africa Month is “Educate and Skill Africa for the 21st Century”, as designated by the African Union. In celebration of this significant milestone, the UFS is organising a diverse array of events throughout the month of May:

5km Fun Run & Walk

The Faculty of Health Sciences will host a 5km Fun Run & Walk, featuring live music, fitness sessions by KovsieFit, and exciting prizes.

Date: 11 May 2024

Time: 06:00

Venue: Francois Retief Building, Bloemfontein Campus.

 

World citizenship and African higher Education

The Office for International Affairs will host an event on World Citizenship and African Higher Education focusing on preparing students for a globally connected world.

Date: 22 May 2024

Time: 16:00-18:00

Venue: Centenary Complex, Bloemfontein Campus

Livestream to Qwaqwa Campus: https://events.ufs.ac.za/e/events.ufs.ac.za/e/africa2024

 

Africa Month book launch

The Centre for Gender and Africa Studies (CGAS) will host a launch a book titled Migration, Borders, and Borderlands꞉ Making National Identity in Southern African Communities which was edited by Dr Munyaradzi Mushonga, Prof John Aerni‑Flessner, Prof Chitja Twala and Dr Grey Magaiza.

Date: 22 May 2024

Time: 14:00 – 15:30

Venue: E0014, Education building, Qwaqwa Campus

Livestream: https://livestream.ufs.ac.za/

 

Africa Day Memorial Lecture

The CGAS on the Qwaqwa Campus will also host the Africa Day Memorial Lecture titled “Peacebuilding in Africa: Challenges, Trends, and Futures” presented by Prof Ismail Rashid.

Date: 22 May 2024

Time: 16:00-18:00

Venue: E0014 Education Building, Qwaqwa Campus

Livestream: https://livestream.ufs.ac.za/

 

Faculty of Theology and Religion Africa Day celebration

The Faculty of Theology and Religion on the Bloemfontein Campus will host an Africa Day Celebration.

Date: 24 May 2024

Time: 12:00-13:00

Venue: 10 H van der Merwe Scholtz Hall, Bloemfontein Campus

News Archive

Government supports the UFS's transformation push
2009-09-04

The Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande (pictured), has lauded the University of the Free State (UFS) for the progress it has made in increasing access for black students.

However, the minister also acknowledged that the UFS has failed in some respects to make important changes.

“The continued racial segregation of the hostels is something that is unacceptable 15 years after the introduction of a democratic order and has no doubt contributed to the kinds of attitudes that led to the notorious incident at the Reitz Hostel last year,” he said.

Dr Nzimande was delivering the JN Boshoff Commemorative Lecture on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein last night.

He said the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof Jonathan Jansen, has assured him that he will speed up this issue of residence integration and that he was confident he will do so successfully with the support of the overwhelming majority of the university community.

“He has my support in his new role and he will succeed in taking the university forward decisively along the path towards greater academic excellence and to serving its students and staff, the Free State province and South Africa as a whole, including its poorest and most disadvantaged citizens,” he said.

He said the UFS is an important national asset and “not an asset for some to the exclusion of others”.

“We will play our part as the Department of Higher Education and Training to support you in pursuing transformation, but we won’t keep quiet when we see that there are things that are developing that are actually undermining the realization of the UFS as a national asset,” he said.

Despite the fact that all our universities, he said, have policies in place to combat racism and discrimination, the Soudien Report shows that there is a disconnection between policy and actual discriminatory practice at universities.

“This is a serious problem because this disjuncture is not only because of the actions of maverick individuals on the ground, but includes the universities’ leadership, including even University Councils which are guilty of making policy in order to comply with legislation but expect that policy to be ignored in practice,” he said.

The Soudien Report is a Report of the Ministerial Committee on Transformation and Social Cohesion and the Elimination of Discrimination in Public Higher Education Institutions commissioned by the Department of Education last year.

Dr Nzimande also raised the fact that universities have neglected the Further Education and Training (FET) college sector in terms of research and teaching.

“There is not enough research by the universities on the FET college sector and yet this is the sector that we are prioritizing to absorb many of our young people who can’t make it to universities,” he said.

“We want to try and fight against this notion that in order to proceed in life university is the only place. We want to turn these FET colleges into colleges of choice and universities must help us, not only to research them but also to train FET colleges lecturers.”

He also announced that he will be calling a meeting of all the chairpersons of the Institutional Forums of the universities later this month as he feels that the role and status of these forums have been “eroded”.

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt.stg@ufs.ac.za  
04 September 2009
 

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